It has become increasingly important to maintain communications connectivity in the presence of transmission system failures. To this end, bidirectional line-switched ring type transmission systems have been proposed that heal communications circuits in the presence of equipment failures, fiber cuts and ring node failures. To prevent misconnections of communications circuits under ring node failure conditions, bidirectional line-switched ring arrangements employ a so-called squelching mechanism to eliminate communications circuits that were destined for a failed ring node. Heretofore, when a ring node failed in a bidirectional line-switched ring there was no operative mechanism for redirecting a simple duplex communications circuit which was to be squelched because it terminated in the failed ring node. Indeed, in bidirectional line-switched ring transmission systems, duplex communications circuits which terminate at a failed ring node were "squelched", i.e., prevented from propagating further in the bidirectional line-switched ring, in order to prevent a misconnection with another duplex communications circuit propagating in the other direction of the bidirectional line-switched ring. Consequently, the communications circuit connectivity was lost, resulting in a communications failure.